Walter still kicking when he's down
HOUSTON -- In a magical season of stardust memories, only one Patriot failed to enjoy the nonstop euphoria of Gillette Stadium. Only one player got booed at home and heard angry callers cursing him on talk radio. And now only one player in a blue uniform goes into tomorrow's Super Bowl worried about being the goat.
Say hello to Patriots punter Ken Walter. While some New England fans might worry about a championship game in which the other team has a star named Buckner, Walter worries about becoming the Buckner of the Patriots.
"[Boston] is historically a tough town," said Walter. "They're tough on basketball, they're tough on baseball. Just look back in time on a lot of the players and issues players had to deal with for the rest of their life. If you get caught up in it, that'll take you down real quick."
Players with old issues? Like a seemingly harmless grounder between the wickets?
"That's definitely one of 'em," said Walter. "You don't want to live like that. I think about Super Bowl XXXVI [Walter held the ball for Adam Vinatieri's winning field goal] and after the fact I'm thinking, `God, what if that hold, what if that [snap] would have went through my hands?' Are you kidding me? I'd have to live with that. It would be the new Curse."
By his admission, Walter had a "bumpy" season. He suffered a crisis of confidence and an acute case of the shanks. After weeks of columnists and fans calling for his head (calling for his foot?), he was released after averaging only 27.3 yards on three pathetic punts in a close victory against the Colts. A week later, he was back and again some wondered if Walter has compromising photos of someone in the Patriot hierarchy.
"It's been an experience I'll never forget," he said, while standing on the floor of Reliant Stadium. "It's been tough. I've been beat up by the media, but I can say the one thing that was probably the best day of my life was the day I came back. Walking in that locker room, my hand hurt from shaking so many hands. Guys were saying, `We're glad you're back. You belong back here.' And that's what matters, not what the outside world thinks, the fans or anybody else. The fellas know it's a tough situation."
The home-field advantage was lost on Walter.
"That place is tough to play in," he said. "There were times when I'd hit a ball for no return and it could be 38-40 yards, and you're getting booed. I was looking into it too much and I was getting upset at that fact and it's just stupid. I know if I go out there and come through in a situation -- like if Bill [Belichick] wants me to put it out of bounds even if it's only 25 yards and I do it -- Bill will shake my hand and pat me on the back and I get booed. You have to learn how to just have some thick skin and move on. It's been a tough experience. I've had to go back to my inner self and hold on. My wife has been a key ingredient in helping me stay focused. Whatever I can do to help to win, that's why I'm here."
Holding the ball for Vinatieri's clutch kicks is as important as Walter's punting average. There are some who believe that Walter's shaky season was tolerated only because the Patriots need him to hold for field goals. Walter was holding for all the clutch kicks two years ago, and again when Vinatieri kicked the game-winner against Tennessee in the Divisional playoffs in the coldest night ever at Foxborough. Walter said his foot turned black and blue from punting in the single-digit temperatures against the Titans.
The punting game is one area in which the Panthers have a distinct advantage. Carolina's Todd Sauerbrun led the NFC with a 44.6-yard average this season and is on his way to his third straight Pro Bowl. Walter averaged 37.7 yards per kick; his career average was 40.1 entering the season.
"I developed a few bad habits," Walter acknowledged. "Outside in the wind and cool you've got to be able to cut the ball a little more. I've always been a big hang-time punter and when you've got a wind you can't be hanging the ball up there and have it go high and short. The mental part, you just clutter your mind with too many negative things."
Walter grew up in Cleveland and was a ball boy for the Browns when Belichick coached in Cleveland. After kicking for Kent State, he kicked for four years with the . . . Carolina Panthers. Belichick brought him to the Patriots for the Super Bowl season two years ago.
In Super Bowl XXXVI, Walter punted eight times, averaging 43.1 yards, and put four inside the 20. The Rams managed only three returns and 6 yards.
"I had a great day in that Super Bowl and I plan on having another great day. This is it. It's zero-zero and we just have to go out there and do it. It's just a great feeling to have been here before and know what to expect. But everything that's happened in the past doesn't matter. None of that means anything."
Walter is a baseball (Cleveland Indians) fan and follows the Red Sox fairly closely. Would he have taken Pedro Martinez out in the eighth inning against the Yankees in Game 7? "Personally, no," he answered. "I'd have stuck with him. He's your go-to guy. It's a gamble. Like everybody said, `What if?' What if Pedro would have come through. Everyone would have been like, `You should have left him in.' "
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.
